


A Child and Their Killer Skeleton Guardian

by followmetoyourdoom



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Angst, chapter 3 is the angst chapter, cuteness, papapyrus, ridiculous humour, uncle/papa papyrus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6843268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/followmetoyourdoom/pseuds/followmetoyourdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Great Papyrus will capture a human! He will be victorious! Unless of course that human happens to be the cutest thing in existence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Human Defeats An Edgy Skeleton

**Author's Note:**

> Here's something to make up for the angst guys ^-^ Frisk is about 2-3 at the start of this.

It had all started with the nickname.

"I," Papyrus had stated loudly and proudly, banging his fist against his chest. "AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

There was a pause as the child looked at him then tackled his leg, latching onto it like a limpet. "Pappy Wappy!" they giggled with glee. "PAPPY WAPPY!!"

"WHAT? NO! HUMAN ARE YOU DEAF? IT IS PAPYRUS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO BE PRECISE!"

"Pappy Wappy," they mumbled defiantly into his leg. Bright eyes looked up, "You my Pa-ppy Wa-ppy!"

"PAPYRUS! AND LET GO OF MY LEG." He began to shake it in an attempt to dislodge the small human.

Still they clung tight, "Nuuuuu, Pappy Wappy! Bad Pappy Wappy."

"ARGH!" Papyrus began shaking his leg furiously, the snow billowing up around the both of them.

Of course, where there's snow, there's ice.

It was quite comical how Papyrus' other leg suddenly swung into the air and his face quickly changed from annoyance to surprise as he fell ass-first into snow.

Frisk took this opportunity to jump from his still extended leg and headbutted Papyrus in the chest, not even giving the skeleton time to prop himself up before he was knocked backwards again.

As the child sat victorious on his chest, chanting "Again again again!" Papyrus lay on his back in the snow.

Could this get any worse?

That was when a small, rather round shadow fell upon him.

Yes, yes it could get worse.

"there's sno-way I would've pegged ya as the babysitter type," the shadow rumbled with amusement.

Much worse.

"SANS."

"then again, icy why ya couldn't resist."

"SANS!"

"Sans," a small voice repeated happily.

Papyrus glared at the child, "OH SURE YOU CAN PRONOUNCE _HIS_ NAME CORRECTLY. 

"Pappy Wappy," they said with a nod.

That was when Sans lost it, "pappy wappy?" he said incredulously between pearls of laughter.

"YES WELL I'M GLAD YOU FIND IT HUMOROUS," Papyrus snapped sarcastically.

"humerus ya say?" Sans chanced, not able to keep his face straight for even a second.

Papyrus shot his brother a look, "DO NOT."

Sans just snickered while Papyrus propped himself up on one arm and used the other to grab the back of Frisk jumper, lifting them off his chest.

"Whee!" they screeched with delight, waving their arms at him and kicking their chubby legs.

Grumbling some more, Papyrus stood up, keeping them held out in front of him.

Sans had finally stopped laughing, "welp, i guess ya finally captured a human, pap."

"No! Ish Pappy Wappy!" Frisk corrected with a frown, which caused Sans to laugh once again.

"YES THANK YOU HUMAN. BECAUSE IF IT'S ONE THING THAT NEEDS CORRECTING OUT OF THESE PARTICULAR STATE OF AFFAIRS, IT'S MY NAME."

"so, what're ya gonna do? take 'em to undyne?"

Papyrus pondered this question for a second, watching Frisk spin gently, left then right then left again and so on. They kept trying to reach him, short arms flapping in front of them impatiently.

"Pappy Wappyyyy! Want Pappy Wappy!" they insisted.

Papyrus chose to ignore them and instead answered his brother, "I DON'T THINK SO SANS, I THINK WE SHOULD-" he was cut off by a loud cry emanating from the human.

The skeleton almost dropped them in shock, "AAH SANS! WHAT ARE THEY DOING? WHY ARE THEY MAKING THAT NOISE?" he shouted over the cries as he held them further and further away, now with both hands.

"i dunno bro, why ya askin' me?"

"WELL I CERTAINLY DON'T KNOW!" 

"clearly," Sans muttered, "but i ah, i don't think that's going to help."

'That' in question was holding Frisk upside down by their leg.

Papyrus opened his mouth to retort back when the crying changed into little shrieks of delight, "Upshide down!" they shouted, swinging themselves backwards and forwards. "World looksh funny."

"AHA! YOU SEE!" Papyrus exclaimed triumphantly, "I WAS RIGHT," he prodded Sans in the chest, the movement making Frisk wobble dangerously, "YOU WERE WRONG."

"their face is gettin' red."

Papyrus peered at the child, tilting his own head upside down, "SO IT IS. GOOD FOR THEM, RED IS AN EXCELLENT COLOUR."

"Red," Frisk agreed, their face lighting up. "Fire truck! Wee-oh wee-oh!"

Sans lifted his brow, "what are they doin' now?"

"THEY SEEM TO BE COMMUNICATING IN SOME SORT OF ANCIENT HUMAN LANGUAGE." Papyrus contemplated as Frisk continued to make obnoxious fire truck sounds.

Frisk then started singing, "Wheelsh on the bush go round and round, round and round, round and round. Wheelsh on the bush go round and round, ALL DAY LONG!" they practically shouted the last verse, making Sans wince.

After their little song they went back to the fire truck sounds, which were now joined by the occasional "Toot toot!"

"what did ya give this child?"

Papyrus turned them the right way round, holding them under their arms. "I DON'T KNOW…" he muttered, holding them close to his face.

Which was of course, a mistake.

Frisk reached out and hooked their fingers into his eye sockets, laughing when he pulled back with a yelp.

There was a great gauffing laugh from Sans, losing it as the child swung from his brother's face, Papyrus having let go of the child in shock.

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted once he'd got ahold of Frisk again, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE LAUGHING YOU USELESS PILE OF BONES. HELP ME."

"aw is the great papyrus bein' overpowered by a tiny human?" Sans said, snorting as he watched the scene unfold.

Frisk had manage to make their hands meet in the middle and was clasping them tightly together. This meant that every time Papyrus pulled at them, their thumbs pressed against the inside of his nose, which in turn made him sneeze.

After much tugging from Papyrus and giggles from Frisk, the former finally got the child to let go. Learning his lesson, he held them as far away as possible from him.

"NYGH, LET'S JUST LEAVE THEM IN THE CAPTURE ZONE FOR NOW."

Sans once again raised his brow at this, but said nothing as he trudged after Papyrus towards their garage.

Once inside, Papyrus attempted to put Frisk down through the bars; but as soon as he did so, they sprinted towards his leg and clung to him determinedly.

Exasperated, Papyrus turned to his brother, "SANS, DO SOMETHING."

Grinning, Sans stepped away, "i have to get back to work bro, what if a human passes through?"

"THERE IS A HUMAN RIGHT HERE SANS."

"what if there was a second human?"

There was a pause. "FINE," Papyrus said eventually, "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LAZE OFF."

Already opening the door, Sans replied, "will do."

"DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LAZE OFF, OR THAT YOU _WILL_ LAZE OFF?" But Sans had already left.

Papyrus sighed and stared down at Frisk, "I GUESS IT'S JUST YOU AND ME HUMAN."

"Pappy Wappy," they said, snuggling into his leg.

"URGH." He looked around for something to help him get Frisk off him and spotted the squeaky chew toy on the floor. "HUMAN LOOK! AN ITEM FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH," he said with mock happiness, shaking it in front of their face.

Frisk cocked their head and looked up at Papyrus, confusion etched clearly on their face.

"OKAY, OKAY, WHAT ABOUT FOOD? ARE YOU HUNGRY HUMAN?" He slipped through the bars and positioned himself next to the bowl of dried food on the floor.

Curious, Frisk leaned away slightly and peered into the bowl. One hand still tightly gripping Papyrus' leg, they reached into the bowl and took a handful of the biscuits. Frisk then promptly threw them at the wall and laughed as the now old rubbery food ricocheted off it, causing Papyrus to duck as they flew over his head.

Once he'd recovered, Papyrus looked sternly back down at the child, "HUMAN, DO YOU MIND?" Frisk's only reply was more giggles. "FINE, WHAT ABOUT SLEEPING?"

This time Frisk actually let go of Papyrus' leg to investigate. Papyrus took advantage of this and quickly slipped back through the bars.

"AHA HUMAN I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TRAPPED YOU! WAIT HERE UNTIL UN-HOW ARE YOU ALREADY BACK ON MY LEG?"

And indeed they were. Looking up at him with big wide sad eyes.

"D-DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK HUMAN. YOU HAVE TO STAY HERE."

They pawed at him, "Pappy Wappy…" they mumbled softly, gently headbutting his leg.

Papyrus sighed and reached down to take them in his arms. Frisk happily complied and settled in the crook of his elbow when Papyrus shifted them to one arm.

"C'MON HUMAN, I SUPPOSE YOU CAN CRASH WITH ME UNTIL YOU BECOME MORE ACCUSTOMED TO HOW THINGS WORK AROUND HERE."

Frisk yawned lazily, snuggling down further into Papyrus' boney arm as they closed their eyes. If he wasn't already smitten by this adorable creature, he certainly was now. But of course, to admit so would be uncool.

With a sigh Papyrus turn around and left the garage behind.

And thus began the longest babysitting session in existence.


	2. Dinner Appreciation and Watching Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further shenanigans with lil baby Frisk, and Flowey is introduced.

There was a loud bang as Papyrus opened the front door and marched straight towards the stairs, passing Sans slouched on the couch. It wasn't until he was halfway up that Papyrus realised.

"SANS!" he shouted down, "WEREN'T YOU MEANT TO BE ON THE WATCH FOR MORE HUMANS?"

"aren't ya meant to be capturin' that human?" Sans said with amusement in his voice, his eyes not drifting from the TV.

Papyrus opened his mouth to retort back, but quickly closed it and continued stomping up the stairs. A low laugh followed him up which then became a mutter as a suspicious looking bone hit Sans on the side of his head.

Before Sans could return the blow, Papyrus flounced into his room, kicking the door shut behind him. 

Throughout all of this Frisk didn't stir. 

Setting them down on the edge of his bed, Papyrus looked around in search of something for the child to sleep on. His eyes settled on his skull flag and he sighed heavily, tugging it off the wall.

Papyrus bunch it up on the floor, leaving a little bit to the side for Frisk to cover themselves with. But when he turned around to move them, he found that they had shuffled up to the middle of his bed and were wrapped in his duvet.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus muttered, more to himself, "THAT'S WHERE _I_ SLEEP!"

When that did nothing he simply picked Frisk up and moved them to the nest he'd set up for them, making sure they were tucked in and had a bunched up part of the flag to rest their head on. Then he quietly left, unsure if they'd be more prone to waking up now he'd moved them around.

This was of course only so he didn't have to deal with them, it had nothing to do with Papyrus actually caring that the child got some rest. No, of course not.

"so, ya gonna call undyne?" Sans asked upon Papyrus' return.

The taller skeleton scratched the back of his head, "NO, NOT YET. THEY NEED TO REGAIN THEIR STRENGTH."

"for what?" 

"THINGS."

Sans raised his brow, "ok. wanna join me?" He patted the seat next to him, "it's ya favourite show."

A frown. Then, "VERY WELL. BUT ONLY FOR A FEW MINUTES."

Three hours later, both brothers were asleep. Papyrus was snoring his skull off, mouth wide open, leaning on Sans' shoulder who was mumbling in his sleep. 

A particularly loud grunt startled Sans awake. He went to nudge Papyrus to get him to shut up, then grinned evilly as he got an idea. 

Papyrus was gonna dust him for this, but it would be worth it.

Very carefully he searched around for his phone, finding it in a crack in the sofa along with an extremely squashed 'dog which Sans promptly ate. 

He then snapped a picture of his brother, making sure he caught his own smirking face in the photo. Straight onto the undernet it went with the caption 'lil bro needed a rest after sucha long day, ain't he the cutest? >3'.

Papyrus wasn't going to live this one down, not for a while.

Sans started snickering so much that he woke Papyrus who jolted away from his brother and then muttered something about going to bed. 

"bone tired are ya?" Sans quipped, hiding his phone.

Still half asleep, Papyrus didn't even register the pun, not that he hadn't heard it before. "MM, YEAH, SURE…" he mumbled loudly as he headed to bed.

He soon woke up properly however once he noticed both the skull flag and, more importantly Frisk, missing.

"HUMAN? HUMAN WHERE ARE YOU? ARE YOU STILL IN HERE?"

A small scuffling sound alerted Papyrus to the fact that Frisk was indeed still in his room. In fact they were curled up on his pillow, flag wrapped tightly around them.

Papyrus sighed, picking them up gently and setting them down on the floor near his bookshelf. Once again checking that their head was supported - he would make sure they were comfortable enough, but they couldn't sleep in his bed.

This was something Papyrus had to be stern about.

So when Frisk found their way back to him not even five minutes after Papyrus had got into bed, he very sternly shifted them so he could cuddle them.

"THIS IS ONLY FOR TONIGHT."

"Only for two nightsh," they mumbled back, snuggling down.

Very well, at least this way he could better guard them so they didn't escape. Yes, that was it. Definitely. He didn't enjoy this, no of course not, why would he?

And yet, though no one could see it, Papyrus smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

Frisk moved around a lot in the night, so much so that Papyrus found himself waking up every couple of hours or so. And yet still he did not move the child, instead choosing to let them take up almost the entire bed. How they did so with their tiny body, Papyrus didn't know.

Only when he actually fell out of bed did he give up on the notation of sleep and groggily stumbled downstairs.

Sans was still on the sofa and had fallen asleep there, of course he had, too lazy to move to his room. This happened so often that Papyrus had stopped getting annoyed by his brother's incessant insistence on sleeping wherever and whenever it pleased him. In fact, it worried him; though of course he would never admit this.

Not even to himself.

Stepping outside, Papyrus started walking towards his post when he spotted a golden flower planted near the mailboxes. Golden flowers did not grow in Snowdin, only in the King's private garden; and of course the ruins, but this was unknown to Papyrus.

And so he walked up to the flower and nudged it with his foot, then jumped back when the flower's head turned and it shouted at him. "HEY! Watch where you're going, you idiot!"

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"What?" snapped the flower, "Never seen a talking flower before?"

Papyrus pondered the question, something niggling at the back of his skull, "DO I KNOW YOU?"

If a flower's complexion could pale, this one's certainly did. "N-no, of course not, how would you know me? I'm a  _ flower _ ."

"A FLOWER…" Papyrus fell silent, thinking hard.

There had been a time when Papyrus had known Flowey, been friends with him even. But Flowey had reset many many times since then, and yet still it was obvious still some memory of him remained with Papyrus. Certain parts lingered, despite all logic. Hopefully it was not enough for him to truly remember, for just as there had been times when they had been friends, there had been times when they had been the worst of enemies.

It was then that Flowey had to make a decision. He could leave Frisk in Papyrus' grasp and hope that somehow, the small child managed to turn things around; or he could attempt to bargain with the skeleton to release Frisk.

He decided on a compromise. "Hey, skeleton. Yes you," Flowey sneered as Papyrus focused on him, "What are you going to do with Frisk?"

"WITH WHO?"

"The human of course, their name is Frisk."

Papyrus squinted at the flower, "WHY DO YOU CARE?"

Flowey seemed to hesitate before he answered. "It's none of your business," he finally said, "but know that if you hurt them-"

"PLEASE," Papyrus interrupted, "HARMING A DEFENCELESS CHILD OFFERS NO CHALLENGE, SO WHAT'S THE POINT IN DOING SO? NO. THEY WILL STAY WITH ME UNTIL I DECIDE TO TAKE THEM TO KING ASGORE DREEMURR."

"Why not just take them now?"

Papyrus shuffled his feet uncomfortably and repeated what he'd told Sans, "THEY NEED TO REGAIN THEIR STRENGTH."

This was the point where Flowey began to doubt the skeleton's words. Of course, had he been present when Frisk had 'attacked' Papyrus, he would know exactly what was going on. As it was, he was forced to push aside the hope that had sparked up at Papyrus' nervousness. 

Narrowing his eyes, he looked up at the skeleton, "I will be watching. They are very... important, and you had better not hurt them."

"IF THEY'RE SO IMPORTANT, WHY WAS I ABLE TO CAPTURE THEM?" 

"What like you expect me to look out for them?" Flowey said incredulously, "First time I met Frisk they tried to pull me out of the ground."

Papyrus frowned once again, "THEN WHY DO YOU CARE?" he repeated.

Flowey rolled his eyes, "I've already told you, it's none of your business. Anyway, look after them, I'll be watching."

"WATCHING? WHAT ARE YOU SOME SORT OF SPY?" but Flowey had already left. Just popped back into the ground and it was like he had never been.

Papyrus shook his head, then carried on as if the conversation had never taken place.

Back in the house, Frisk had woken up and had gotten themselves downstairs searching for Papyrus.

"Where Pappy Wappy?" they cried, shaking Sans awake.

He woke with a start, magic eye glowing red, and promptly fell on the floor next to a very unhappy Frisk.

They stomped their foot, little fists clenched and pouted at him, "Want Pappy Wappy. Now!"

"uh kid, he's probably gone to work already," Sans said getting up off the floor, "he'll be back soon."

"No! Now!" Another foot stomp, this time accompanied by a light prod to Sans' leg.

Sans sighed, "fine i'll go get him." 

He teleported to Papyrus' station, but his brother was no-where to be found. Sans grumbled to himself and began teleporting back towards the house in short bursts, hoping to bump into Papyrus.

Sans did not bump into Papyrus so much as slam face first into him.

"ow…"

Papyrus looked down at his brother in shock, "SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Rubbing his skull, Sans replied, "the kid wanted ya, kept cryin'."

"YOU LEFT THEM ALONE?" And just like that Papyrus ran off back in the direction he'd come from.

Sans sighed and teleported back into the house. He soon found the kid curled up on the sofa where Papyrus had been sat the night before, and joined them. "don't worry kid, pap'll be back soon."

"Pappy Wappy?"

He snorted, "yeah sure, pappy wappy."

A few minutes later the door burst open and Papyrus strode in with a shout of, "WHERE ARE YOU HUMAN?"

"they're right here, bro." Sans said, pointing his thumb casually at the child next to him.

"OH GOOD THEY'RE ALRI- WAIT, HOW DID YOU GET BACK BEFORE ME?" Sans just raised his brow, "AH YES OF COURSE. YOU AND YOUR SHORTCUTS."

Papyrus quickly gathered the child up in his arms, "SANS, YOU WILL MAN MY POST TODAY WHILE I LOOK AF- I MEAN, MAKE SURE THE HUMAN DOESN'T ESCAPE."

Sans raised his brow even more and glanced at Frisk, "sure thin' pappy wappy."

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!"

Very smartly, Sans left before he could get hit on the head with a bone again.

Grumbling to himself, Papyrus looked down at the child he held in his arms. "FRISK?" he tried.

The response was immediate. They stared up at him smiling, then started giggling as they noticed him looking back at them.

Papyrus chuckled and carried them off into the kitchen. "WANT TO HELP ME GET REVENGE ON MY BROTHER?"

Frisk tilted their head slightly and blinked.

"I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YES," Papyrus said putting Frisk down on the counter. "WATCH AND LEARN HUMAN. I'M ABOUT TO MAKE THE BEST SPAGHETTI IN THE WORLD, AND THEN MAKE SANS CHOKE ON IT."

The only word Frisk took from that was, "Shpagtt?"

Papyrus nodded, "YES SPAGHETTI," he repeated slower.

"Shpaghetti."

And so he began, first putting Frisk down on the table so they would be safe and - more importantly - out of the way. 

But of course, Frisk didn't like that. Instead they climbed on his back and determinedly clung there like a koala, refusing to let go even after Papyrus tried shaking them off. He quickly gave up and decided to just put up with them.

What followed was a cooking frenzy in which Papyrus ignored all safety guidelines that could ever be associated with the culinary art. He mashed tomatoes to a pulp with one fist, haphazardously tossed pasta into the pan, and it was only Frisk's presence that stopped him from turning the heat all the way up.

Even an idiot knows children aren't flame retardant. Though certain monsters had tried to test this in the past.

"BEHOLD!" Papyrus announced as he plated up his concoction.

He showed it to Frisk and they immediately let go of Papyrus' scarf and grabbed a handful of the spaghetti, stuffing it in their mouth.

Papyrus gasped and moved the plate out of their reach, "NO, DON'T EAT THAT HUMAN. I KNOW I SAID IT WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD BUT IT'S REALLY NOT! I MAKE IT HORRIBLE - ON PURPOSE OF COURSE - FOR SANS, YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO- HUMAN STOP THAT!"

They had begun to climb over Papyrus' shoulder in an attempt to get closer to the spaghetti. The skeleton deftly used his free hand to hold them in place so they were merely lying stomach down on the flat part of his shoulder pad. 

"NO."

"More," Frisk said pouting, struggling to free themselves.

Papyrus' hold on them loosened, "WHAT?"

They reached for the plate, gaining some leverage thanks to Papyrus' shift in focus, "Moooore!"

"YOU… LIKE IT?"

Frisk nodded and wiggled their sauce covered fingers in an attempt to reach the plate, "Best in world! Pappy Wappy ish best cook in world!"

Experimentally, Papyrus tried some of the spaghetti himself and gagged immediately.

"URGH, NO FRISK YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS, IT CAN'T BE HEALTHY. BUT... I SUPPOSE I COULD MAKE SOME MORE FOR YOU AND MAKE IT BETTER THIS TIME?"

"More!"

That settled it then. 

After much trouble trying to pry Frisk off his shoulder and onto his back once more, he shifted them to his hip where they held onto his spine. This would have to do.

Almost as soon as the next batch was finished, Frisk began clamoring for it. 

"NO, WAIT FOR IT TO COOL."

"Cool?" Frisk pondered this for a second then giddily pointed at Papyrus' face, narrowly missing his eye socket. "You cool."

"ME?"

A nod, "Pappy Wappy ish cool."

Papyrus struck a pose, "WELL OF COURSE I AM, HUMAN. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! MY VERY PRESENCE OOZES-"

He was cut off as Frisk made a leap for the spaghetti. Acting quickly, he lifted it up and they missed, catching onto Papyrus' arm instead. He briefly lost his balance as the small child swung backwards and forwards, the shock from their jump of faith unbalancing him just as much as the action itself.

"HUMAN, CAN YOU NOT?"

Frisk tilted their head back to look up at him, giggling cheekily all the while. 

And Papyrus couldn't help smiling back.

He hovered his arm over the table so Frisk could get down. It was only the promise of spaghetti that convinced them to actually let go.

Papyrus checked to make sure the meal was cool enough - and actually edible this time - before setting it down in front of Frisk, who began shoveling the food into their mouth as fast as they could.

A reasonable adult would tell them to slow down. A reasonable adult would tell them to use cutlery.

Papyrus egged them on.

And when Sans returned from Grillby's, he returned to a bleary eyed brother - his lack of sleep finally catching up to him - and a still hyperactive child.

"I HOPE YOU WORKED HARD TODAY BROTHER."

Knowing full well he'd been at Grillby's all day, Sans replied with, "sure did, bro." 

Also knowing full well where Sans had been, Papyrus pushed the first batch of now cold spaghetti towards his brother. "EAT."

"Eat, eat!" Frisk encouraged, eyes bright.

So of course Sans took a bite, and regretted it immediately. Papyrus smiled evilly at him while he choked and spluttered, barely swallowing the spaghetti.

Despite Papyrus' sudden snarl and Frisk's pout, Sans pushed the plate away from himself and stood up, "you guys have fun with…" he waved a hand at the food, "this. i'm goin' back to grill- _goin'_ to grillby's."

Papyrus began to retort back when a yawn interrupted him.

Sans chuckled, "ya look bone tired pap."

"SANS." The pun registered that time.

"why not take a nap?"

"NEVER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T TAKE SOMETHING AS TRIVIAL AS A NAP. THAT'S PREPOSTEROUS!" He stifled another yawn.

"y'know pap, i had a _great_ night's sleep last night."

Narrowing his eyes, Papyrus muttered, "DID YOU NOW..."

Sans paused at the door of the kitchen, leaning against it with a sly smile, "mmhmm i sure did," he looked at Frisk who was still frowning at him from the table, "well, until the kid woke me up."

"OH BOO HOO! CARE TO TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, SEEING AS YOU'RE SUCH A PRO AT SLEEPING ALL DAY WHICH IS CLEARLY VERY DIFFICULT. "

Ignoring the sarcasm in his brother's voice, Sans continued, "nah sleepin's easy bro, i can do it with my eye sockets closed."

Papyrus didn't respond, just sent his brother a death glare before flouncing past him into the living room.

Frisk quickly jumped down from the table and ran after him, completely ignoring Sans.

The small skeleton shrugged and walked out the front door without so much as a goodbye. That kid was taking over his brother's life and they'd only been here for a couple of days, if that. Perhaps it was time that Sans spoke to Undyne if his brother was unwilling to... 

Nah, too much effort.

Papyrus could keep the kid entertained anyway, he'd take them to Undyne when the time was right. It was no skin off his back to wait. Well. If he had skin.

The usual greetings followed Sans into Grillby's and a bottle of mustard was already waiting for him on the counter.

Excellent.

"cheers, grillbz," Sans said, lifting the bottle up to the bartender in a small toast before downing it in one.

Grillby said nothing, but kept a close eye on Sans as he downed bottle after bottle of the yellow condiment. After the fourth he refused to serve Sans anymore and eventually ordered him to leave.

Muttering angrily he stormed into the house to find Papyrus fast asleep on the sofa and Frisk about two inches from the TV screen.

"woah kid, that ain't good for ya." Sans looked around and spotted the red marker he always used and passed it to the kid. "here, go draw somethin'."

Frisk looked up at him curiously before toddling off towards Papyrus. 

As they took the lid off the pen and brought it to Papyrus' face, Sans wondered if he should stop them or not. By the time he'd decided, Frisk had already begun drawing, so of course there was no point in Sans stopping them now. After all, who was he to hinder the kid's artistic talents.

When Papyrus woke up, face covered in hundreds of red heart, Sans was sure he'd take the human directly to Asgore himself.

He was right in one aspect; Papyrus would eventually take Frisk to see Asgore. However it would be as the child's friend and ally, not as their foe.

Until that day arrived, both brothers were just going to have to deal with the small human living with them, not matter what it entailed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be 5 pages, it is 9. Hence the long waiting time. But don't worry, the next chapter will be out reeeeeal soon, and I'm sure you're all going to love it :) :) :)


	3. Steady Beeps And Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years past. The monsters had made it to the surface thanks to Frisk and Papyrus. But alas, everything must come to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to say straight off the bat that if you want to skip this chapter - which is the angst chapter - you can. There will be more chapters after this in a slightly different format which you'll be able to read with or without this chapter, though they will read better with it. 
> 
> Both this and the other angst chapter I wrote are very personal for me, the one that is yet to be released especially. They were hard to write but now that I've finished them, I feel like a weight has been lifted, and it's one I've been carrying around for ages.
> 
> But like I said, if angst isn't your thing, just skip this chapter, I won't mind. Or just read the first part that explains what happened up until the angst. Whichever.

Papyrus could remember it all so clearly, from the first 'Pappy Wappy' to the last. From his denial about loving the child to giving up everything to get them to the surface.

He remembered how he had raised the child as his own for as long as he could, only for them to be snatched away from him by the Asgore like monster they called 'Momma'. They were on better terms now, but it still hurt that the child loved her more.

That they happily left with her for the surface world when given the chance.

Papyrus hadn't been allowed to leave the underground, at least not for a few years. Once word of freedom got out, new restrictions soon slotted into place. Until the humans had gotten used to those few monsters that at least looked the part of 'potentially friendly', the rest had to stay. 

Flowey outright refused to leave, he knew what humans were capable of and never wanted to go back into that world. Even if, eventually, he would be the only one left in the underground.

Papyrus on the other hand couldn't wait, but by the time he and Sans had been allowed to leave Frisk was almost a young adult. 

No more silly nicknames just, "Papyrus! You're finally here!" and there were hugs which Papyrus begrudgingly accepted. But they never repeated their childhood name for him. They had grown out of it just as Papyrus had grown accustomed to it.

There was only one other time in their lifetime that Frisk had uttered it and it was years - decades - later.

A steady beep echoed through the room, broken only by the harsh breaths of an old and failing Frisk. 

Papyrus looked the same, seventy years was nothing for a monster and it had passed by so quickly.

Frisk had been silent for a while, mostly likely asleep. 

They slept so much recently, drifting between almost death, and barely life. Everyone knew their time was up. They were human, this was natural. 

Toriel had accepted it, or so she told herself, and visited from time to time, her snowy fur still glowing with misleading youth. For she was wise beyond her apparent age, and had already lost many children. Each one did not hurt any less, but the terrible truth of it was that she was used to death.

When Frisk had first become ill, Toriel had gone in search of Flowey at Frisk's request, but the flower was nowhere to be found. And so Toriel had left a simple note informing Flowey of the situation, knowing he would want to know.

Sans, though fond of Frisk, was nowhere near close enough to them to feel anything more than a regretful sadness that a friend of his would soon pass away.

But Papyrus. Oh sweet Papyrus; whose very soul cried out in pain every time the beeping halted - if only for a millisecond. He had the capacity to understand death, but he refused to.

He knew he would only make it worse by pretending, but much like the optimist cannot help hoping for a better tomorrow, Papyrus could not help hoping for another day with them. 

Just one more. 

And then another and then another and another and another…

Every night before he went to sleep in the armchair besides their bed, he would wish the same wish and dream the same dreadful nightmare filled with anguish and sorrow and nothingness. 

Every morning he woke shivering and gasping for breath he did not need, words of loss on the tip of his tongue. 

A frantic check of Frisk, so small wrapped in endless blankets which did nothing, IV pumping useless antibiotics into their bloodstream, and of course Papyrus' scarf tucked neatly under their head. 

A gentle brush of wispy grey hair and a brief touch, forehead against forehead, and he knew they were still with him.

It was a vicious and agonising cycle that Papyrus never wanted to end.

For there was only one way to end it.

The human doctor had said the antibiotics would give them a fighting chance against the pneumonia, but it had been eleven weeks and they were only getting weaker. 

Eleven weeks of terror filled nights, and days sitting in the cramped armchair guarding Frisk. 

Eleven weeks.

And their soul was fading.

Papyrus had noticed first, of course he had. So in tune with their soul that a mere touch would reveal all he needed to know. He had told the doctors they had failed, but they hadn't listened. They weren't happy with the monster staying in the ward at all, but Frisk had insisted they knew him in their rare moments of clarity, and a look from Papyrus himself was all the doctors needed to leave him alone.

He would brood in a corner, they would do their job. 

They didn't know why he stayed, there was no way he could care for the human. Monsters weren't like that, right? They couldn't feel things like love and compassion, not like humans did anyway, and especially not this one.

If only they knew.

A motion out of the corner of his eye plucked Papyrus out of his daydream. 

Frisk was awake.

"Good Morning, Frisk," he said quietly, not wanting to startle them. "Do You Know Who I Am Today?"

They stared up at him with glassy eyes, their memory fuzzy and deceitful.

"Frisk?" Papyrus persisted, taking their hand in his. "It's Me," he placed his other hand on his chest, trying for something more familiar to them. "The Great Papyrus!" 

Nothing.

And then.

It was almost a whisper, so quiet and shaky, "Pappy Wappy… My sweet Pappy Wappy." 

Papyrus swore he felt his soul leap.

Frisk smiled softly, crinkling hundreds of lines on their face, old and haggard. But their eyes were shining with recognition now, and they were the same eyes that had looked up at him as a child.

Papyrus returned their smile, but it pain him so. For now, with but a simple name, he was remembering all the little tugs and the giggles that brought him the closest thing to happiness and joy and  _ love _ that he'd experienced in a long time.

He knew he didn't have long before they faded again, before their memory slipped away and became their enemy…

So he began to speak,"Frisk I… Thank You So Much, You Did So Much For All Of Us. For Me." Red tears flowed freely, dripping onto the hand he held, splashing sorrow onto the hospital bed sheets.

"You Made Me A Better Person And... I Don't Know How I'll Ever Repay You…"

He glanced up, but their eyes were closed and they'd already drifted off.

And although their heart rate monitor beeped on, their tiny body still clinging to this life, Papyrus couldn't help but shake with fear.

In the middle of the night, the beeping stopped. 

Papyrus woke with a start and rushed over to Frisk, calling out for help. But he was a monster, and a monster's cries for help could not be trusted.

As he pressed his forehead to theirs, mumbling their name over and over again, he searched for that red determined soul he knew better than his own. 

But it had slipped away and he found nothing. And when he squeezed their hand, only a lifeless grip responded.

Every moment from then on was dulled. He didn't hear the shouting, he didn't feel his brother pulling him away from the bed. Sans' awkward pats meant nothing, and his words of comfort fell on deaf ears.

Five hours later, Papyrus was still there.

Frisk had been taken to the mortuary, or the Chapel of Rest as the nurse had called it. Toriel was sorting out the paperwork for the release of their body and funeral plans had to be made. Cremation was discussed, Toriel wanting Frisk to have a monster funeral.

Papyrus didn't care. 

He sat in his chair and stared at the empty bed, his scarf - of rather Frisk's as he had started thinking of it by - clutched in his hands. 

He wound it round and round, as if he could weave Frisk's life back into his own. As if he could interlace his memories with reality and bring them back.

A gentle tap on the door made him glance away from the emptiness in front of him. The door opened and Sans entered. Papyrus looked back towards the bed, the pinpricks of light in his eyes dull and tiny.

"I'M NOT LEAVING." Papyrus said monotonously, voice still loud even now. But it lacked effort, it lacked the confidence Papyrus usually radiated. 

Sans stepped forwards and slowly shut the door behind him. "i'm not here to get ya to leave, i'm here to give ya this." He waved an object in his hand and Papyrus couldn't be bothered to make out what it was.

Instead he went on the offensive, "SANS LEAVE. I NEED…" his grip on the scarf tightened, "I NEED TO BE ALONE RIGHT NOW."

Slightly taken aback, Sans replied, "ok. but, when you're ready…" he placed the object on a table near the door along with a bag. "ya should watch this."

Sans stood awkwardly for a few more seconds before nodding to himself and slipping back through the door.

"bro," he muttered before he left, "just remember we… we still have the memories."

And then he was gone.

Papyrus shakily got to his feet and strode over to the table. 

Picking up the small object in his hand, he turned it over. It wasn't until he noticed the bag which was full of small cassette-like tapes that he realised what he was holding - Sans' camcorder.

Each tape was labelled with a number and a name. 

Memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Future chapters except the very last one will be Papyrus watching various videos back. Some will be shenanigans, others will have some plot in them and others might be a lil bit angst, but nothing compared to this one. Except for the very last chapter, which isn't a 'video' and I sobbed my heart out writing.


	4. Tape 1 - Cabinet Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of the Tapes chapters in which UF!Pap looks back on the captured memories of his time looking after Frisk, and Sans... well he's just Sans. He found a camcorder in the garbage dump and decided to have some fun with it, especially when Frisk gets into something they shouldn't.

The video started with scuffling sounds and brief flashes of light before settling on the small human covered from head to toe with flour and various other substances.

"uh… bro, ya should see this," came Sans' voice from behind the camera.

This was quickly followed by thundering footsteps and a shout of, "WHAT? WHAT IS IT? OH..." Papyrus walked into the shot and stood in front of the human, "FRISK! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" he asked with a shake of his head.

They fiddled with their sauce covered fingers, hair falling over their face, their eyes cast down. "Just… Wanted to be like Pappy Wappy… Wanted to cook…"

"OH FRISK, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST ASKED! I WOULD HAVE-"

"did ya get into my mustard?" The camera jutted forward suddenly as Sans shuffled over to the ransacked cupboard. "you did! ya little brat!"

Sans' hand holding a now empty bottle of mustard took up the entire shot for a few seconds until heartbreaking sobs cut through his angry mumbles.

"SANS! YOU MADE THE HUMAN CRY!"

Hastily, Sans backed off, the camera focusing on the weeping human once again, "i'm sorry i didn't mean- it's okay kid, i can always buy more."

But Frisk could not be consoled.

Not by Sans at least. 

Papyrus gathered them up in his arms and held them close, not caring about the flour that got on his black outfit or the mustard that got on his scarf.

"THE HUMAN IS UNDER OUR PROTECTION NOW SANS, YOU CAN'T JUST GO AROUND UPSETTING THEM."

The camera dropped slightly, "i'm sorry bro. want me to leave?"

An irritable sigh, "NO, YOU CAN HELP CLEAR THIS MESS UP ONCE I'VE GOTTEN FRISK ALL CLEANED UP."

"and maybe after read ya both a story?"

There was a pause as Papyrus hesitantly said, "PERHAPS…" 

It  _ was _ getting pretty late.

Sans set the camera down on the table and Papyrus' footsteps faded off into the distance. The small skeleton then began clearing up the mess Frisk had made - tediously sealing ripped bags and opened packets; sweeping up the flour on the floor and all over the counters; saving what little mustard he could… It took a while.

But Papyrus returned to a clean kitchen, and although he could not be seen in the video footage, his voice could still be heard. 

"YOU… YOU CLEANED UP?"

Sans shrugged, "yeah."

To this day, Papyrus could still remember the confusion he felt that Sans would do anything at all, especially something as big as cleaning up the human's mess. He supposed Frisk brought out the best in both of them, or had brought out the best.

He turned his attention back to the tape and found that both skeleton's had disappeared. 

Had Sans left the camcorder switched on while he read them both a bedtime story? 

…

It would seem so. 

It was a shame Sans hadn't recorded storytime with Frisk. They had looked adorable in one of Papyrus' old 'Cool Dude' t-shirts from his embarrassing teenage years - it was so big on them that they could hardly walk in it.

Papyrus smiled at the memory and went to switch out the tape in the camcorder when the view tilted and turned towards the living room, then up the stairs and finally stopping at Papyrus' door.

Ever so slowly it opened, a suspicious red glow on the edges of the shot - Sans had obviously used magic to silence the hinges.

It soon became obvious why he had chosen to go back downstairs for the device.

Even in the dim light of the dusky evening sky, the camcorder had managed to capture the sweet serenity of the moment. 

Frisk was laying curled up on top of Papyrus' chest, their little head just poking out of the covers and one of their thumbs was in their mouth. One of Papyrus' arms was wrapped tightly around them while the other rested comfortingly on their head.

Sans chuckled and remarked, "nerd," before switching the camera off.

Present day Papyrus was left with an indignant look on his face as he stared at the black static. 

"'M NOT A NERD," he mumbled loudly to himself, finally taking the tape out. 

Onto the next...


	5. Barking Mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An opportunity for a snow day arises, but it's cut short when Papyrus has business to take care of. With Sans left in charge, what could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while guys, writing is a lot harder since I came back from uni, my family like to Do Things and has Errands To Run.

"woah kid, calm down," Sans followed Frisk's movements with the camera as they jumped up and down in front of the door. 

They had grown a little since the first video, but their lisp was still very much present. "Outshide! I can finally go outshide!"

Frisk stopped jumping when Papyrus knelt down in front of them, instead they impatiently tapped their foot as they had seen the tall skeleton do many times.

"NOW FRISK YOU MUST BE CAREFUL. ANY SIGN OF ANY OTHER MONSTERS AND WE'RE BRINGING YOU STRAIGHT BACK."

They nodded, "I know… Doesh that mean I can't go to the party?"

Papyrus placed a hand on their shoulder, "WHEN WE GET BACK, WE'LL HAVE OUR OWN PARTY."

"Really?"

"REALLY REALLY." Papyrus promised standing up. "NOW LET'S GET OUT THERE AND WRECK HAVOC UPON THIS UNSUSPECTING - AND CURRENTLY EMPTY - NEIGHBOURHOOD."

Current day Papyrus put his head in his hands. Why had he been like that, it was so embarrassing.

Frisk's giggles from the camcorder made him look up at their glee filled face which stared directly into the camera. Maybe being embarrassing wasn't so bad if that was the result. Not that he'd ever see th- no, he shouldn't be thinking of that right now. 

_ Happy thoughts, happy memories, _ he told himself firmly.

He turned back to the tape and they were outside now, Frisk pulling on Papyrus' gloved hand and jumping up and down again. 

Sans chuckled as he stood a little ways off, recording the whole scene.

The three must have spent hours outside, throwing snowballs at each other. When the camera went flying thanks to a stray snowball, they soon switched to making snowmen.

Papyrus had almost finished his when he got a call.

"YES? … NOW? … I THOUGHT YOU COULD HANDLE THIS ON YOUR OWN. … FINE." He hung up and crouched down next to Frisk. "I HAVE TO GO TO WATERFALL TO TAKE CARE OF SOME BUSINESS."

"Can't I come too?"

Papyrus patted their head, "NO, YOU STAY HERE. SANS WILL LOOK AFTER YOU."

The camera suddenly jerked up, "sans will what? i ain't lookin' after the ki-" a look from Papyrus cut him off, "i mean i suppose i could. for a price," he whispered the last part, a wicked plan already forming in his head.

So, the little shit had planned it in advance had he? 

Papyrus remembered what had happened next, so he fast forwarded through his past self explaining that Undyne had needed help at the monster party and Sans complaining about the whole thing. Stuff he didn't really need to hear anyway.

The images moved by in a blur and he cursed himself as he skipped too far forwards. Stupid tiny buttons.

When he got it to play at normal speed again he was met with a full screen of snow and Sans muttering something along the lines of "so good, this is gonna be so good." Papyrus grinded his teeth and considered rewinding the tape a little bit, but he lacked the patience to do so. From here would have to do.

The camera titled as Sans raised the camera to focus on Frisk who was holding onto a lead attached to- yep. Just what he'd been expecting.

Oh yeah sure, give the kid a Gaster Blaster to 'walk', that definitely isn't going to end in disaster. 

Sure enough not two minutes later, the Gaster Blaster took off and Frisk went flying like a kite. Sans followed, obviously realising his mistake or perhaps just wanting to get this on film. Mostly likely the latter.

At least Frisk seemed to be enjoying themselves. 

Humans screamed as loud as possible when they were having fun, right? Actually it was more like a wail of sorts, increasing and decreasing in volume as the Gaster Blaster flew from left to right and back again.

Sans seemed content to merely watch now. 

Lazy sod.

Eventually Papyrus himself appeared in the picture, shouting at Sans and asking him how could he have let this happen. What then followed was a wild goose chase as Papyrus ran after the Gaster Blaster and Frisk.

Believe this to be a game, the Gaster Blaster of course flew even further afield causing Sans to walk and then teleport after. 

He had to get  _ this _ on camera. 

Every now and again there was a flash of red light and then the tall figure of Papyrus waving his arms wildly and shouting at the Gaster Blaster to give Frisk back.

They got all the way to the bridge after Sans' post before the Gaster Blaster got distracted by something between the trees and dropped low enough to the ground for Papyrus to pluck the lead out of Frisk's hand and pick them up.

Angrily he turned to Sans who muttered, "welp." and disappeared in another flash of light, taking his Gaster Blaster with him.

Despite himself, Papyrus smiled as he took the tape out of the camcorder. Frisk had spent the next hour or so excitedly telling Papyrus all about their little adventure as they snuck back to the house together, cautious of the monsters returning back from the King's party.

Even if the entire ordeal did add about 70 years to Papyrus' life, at least Frisk had enjoyed it.

Of course they enjoyed their little party afterwards even more - Papyrus had planned the entire thing after all himself. There had been spaghetti cake and party games including Feed The Rock and Avoid The Flying Bones. Those had been a blast.

It was a shame Sans hadn't been around to record that.

Still, there were plenty more tapes to go. Plenty more memories.


	6. Sugar Rush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans (purposely) misunderstands Papyrus' child caring directions. The result? See for yourself:

"ARE YOU SURE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HUMAN FOR A WHOLE DAY?"

"i'll be fine boss, just leave everythin' to me."

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets, "VERY WELL." He cleared his throat, "I GAVE THE HUMAN A BOWL OF SPRINKLES FOR BREAKFAST. IF THEY ASK FOR MORE FOOD, GIVE THEM ANOTHER BOWL."

"ok."

"BUT DO NOT LET THEM TRICK YOU."

"ok."

A sigh, "MUST YOU RECORD ME WHEN I AM SPEAKING TO YOU?"

"yep."

Frisk wriggled in Sans' arms, reaching out to Papyrus.

"NO HUMAN. I HAVE TO WORK. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS BY NOW."

The human dropped their arms, a pout appearing on their face. Papyrus sighed but walked back to Sans to ruffle Frisk's hair one last time.

"NOW BE GOOD FOR UNCLE SANS. OR DON'T, I DON'T PARTICULARLY CARE."

"wow boss," Sans muttered with mock hurt, "you don't have to be so heartless."

Papyrus rolled his pupils, "SANS YOU KNOW VERY WELL I DON'T HAVE A HEART." There was a loud bang he slammed the door shut.

The world jumped for a second as Sans bounced backwards onto the sofa, Frisk's giggle of delight sounded through the speakers as clear as if they were still here with him. Papyrus didn't want to admit how many times he rewinded and played those particular few seconds of tape back.

Eventually, he carried on, eager to find out what had happened on that day to cause the amount of mess he'd rushed home to.

To sum it up, it was pure unbridled mayhem.

About five minutes after Papyrus left, Frisk asked for more sprinkles. Sans, clearly knowing nothing about child care, gave them another bowl full. Five minutes later, the process was repeated. Then again. And again and again and again. 

When Papyrus had told Sans to give the child more sprinkles, they had meant once and once only. Not six times.

Of course there were bound to be consequences of this.

Once all the sprinkles had been expired, Frisk began to run about the place; and Sans, instead of getting up and looking after the kid, simply followed them around with the camera.

To be honest, Papyrus was rather thankful Sans had wasted so much time recording the events of Frisk's life. Once upon a time, he would refuse to admit to such sappy feelings, now however… he might just have to thank his brother. Might.

When Frisk ran back to the sofa and began jumping up and down, demanding more treats, Sans's hand appeared in the shot, offering the kid a hotdog. Where had he got that from? Papyrus frowned and paused the video. Squinting at the offended object, it didn't take him long to realise it was somehow made entirely of sprinkles... how...? He was never going to understand his brother.

Papyrus pressed play. This was not going to end well.

And it did not.

If Frisk was excited before, they were hyperactive now.

Smashes and crashes could be heard from the kitchen, though Sans didn't bother getting up to check. Instead, he zoomed in dramatically on the closed door, which suddenly burst open as the kid came flying out again.

The table was flipped over, the camera bounced as the kid catapulted off the sofa, the end table got knocked over, and the tv almost met its end too.

"nu-uh kid, i'm watching that," Sans interjected, teleporting in between Frisk and the TV. 

Undeterred, Frisk then took to the stairs, spending a good few minutes running up then bouncing down them. To his credit, Sans did summon a Gaster Blaster to catch the kid right at the bottom.

Unfortunately, this only caused even more chaos. With Frisk on its back, the Gaster Blaster burst through into Papyrus' bedroom. Sans teleported to the doorway and yawned, bored, as the kid and his blaster tore up his beloved brother's bedroom.

Screw thanking him. The Papyrus of today was livid. And so was the Papyrus of the past.

It seemed Sans had finally decided to call his brother, "yeah things got a little messy, you might want to get back here."

"IS THE HUMAN OKAY?" Papyrus could hear his own voice, despite the call not being on speaker phone.

Sans glanced back up, the camera focusing on Frisk as they rode the Gaster Blaster around the room whilst wearing Papyrus' pirate flag as a cape, and wielding a random bone as a wand. 

"kid's fine."

A growl from the other end of the phone, "THEN WHY DID YOU CALL ME?"

"oh no, the kid just fell," Sans muttered in mock horror as he watched Frisk laugh and the Gaster Blaster bumped into everything it could. "they're crying and weeping and sobbing and-"

"SANS I CAN HEAR THEM LAUGHING."

"it's the shock bro."

Papyrus growled again, "FINE. I'LL BE TEN MINUTES."

"ok."

The rest of the tape consisted of Frisk somehow making an even bigger mess of the entire house, bar Sans' room. For some strange reason Sans stopped them going in there.

"GEE I WONDER WHY THAT IS, BROTHER." Papyrus muttered as watched the mayhem unravelled.

A loud bang announced Papyrus' arrival back to the house. On the other side of the screen, Papyrus checked the time stamp. Yep, ten minutes, just like he himself had said. Papyrus grinned smugly, he liked it when he was right - not that he was ever wrong of course.

What followed was a raging argument that shook the entire neighbourhood, breaking what was left to be broken in the house. The camera lay forgotten on the sofa, its lense aimed at the ceiling.

The only thing that ended the argument was a soft cry.

"YOU COULD HAVE- FRISK? HUMAN? SANS WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"bro, you're the one that's shouting."

"I ALWAYS SHOUT!" Papyrus exclaimed indignantly, gathering up the small child and holding them close. "There There," Papyrus crooned, trying to use his inside voice. "It Will Be OKAY HUMAN DON'T YOU WORRY. I've Got You."

Frisk's sobs changed to sniffles, and eventually they spoke. "Pappy Wappy?"

"Yes, Human?"

"Hug Sans."

Papyrus was taken aback, "I- WHAT? I'M NOT HUGGING HI- No No, Don't Cry. Don't Cry, Shuuush. SANS!" Grudgingly, the tall skeleton pulled Sans into a hug, almost squashing the child between them who giggled and snuggled down. To Frisk, it seemed their small family was happy again, that was all they cared about.

Even though the camera was still pointed at the ceiling, Papyrus could picture that scene perfectly. It had been the first time he'd hugged his brother in years.

And all thanks to Frisk.

Papyrus picked up the next tape, and felt a chill run through his bones as he read the title. 

Oh no. It was this one. Nononono. W-why had this even be recorded he couldn't, he wouldn't watch it- but he had to. He had to because he missed them so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken a while, uni kinda got in the way.


End file.
